SketchUp as storyboarding tool

In class we watched the clip about the 3D work in war of the worlds and the use of the simple models to "storyboard" the scenes before they go anywhere near high end animation. SketchUp is an awesome tool for this because you can quickly build a scene. there is a tool in SketchUp Pro that gives you a camera ( see link) the ability to move the camera is huge in storyboarding and using motion to see what you can do in a scene. SketchUp Pro 8 can be downloaded as a free trial and you may be able to get a full license by contacting google and asking. you can also import SketchUp models into Maya and use them as frameworks for more polished animations with out having to start from scratch.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bJ3s_cUV3s